Night After Dawn
by TheRainyDayWriter
Summary: A simple trip up to the Grandparents' farm may not be the relief that these four wanted.
1. Prologue Part 1

An old ford truck went shaking down an old dirt road. Four people bounced along inside of the truck, scowling as if angry at all the individual potholes. Farmland was on both sides of the road, and a large ditch divided them on the trucks right. The driver was paying ample attention to the small gorge as the hulking tank of a vehicle would lurch away at the drop of a hat.

"Jesus Roy, keep it together." A young man from the back seat spoke up, a grimace on his face. The african american boy wore a green camouflage jacket loosely hanging above his jeans. An old, frayed patch adorned the jacket's breast with the name "O'Reilly".

He clung to the driver's headrest as the car jerked about on the road, muttering curses at the earth. Another young boy was sitting next to him. He was holding a firm grip on the handle behind the "shotgun" seat.

"Hey Roy?" The other young man spoke from the back. "How much longer 'til we get to your grandparent's place?" This boy was wearing the same jacket as the other, but his patch read "Weaver". "O'Reilly" had longer hair, in contrast to "Weaver's" near buzz-cut.

The driver turned his head towards the rear, while keeping his eyes ahead, occasionally jerking the steering wheel to the left. He was also wearing the matching jacket. The patch on his read "Stepper".

"Don't worry boys, we'll be there soon. They live at the end of this road." The brunette beside him shot him a glare. "OK, I guess we have a girl too."

"I guess!" She punched him in the arm, which the boy replied to with a smile. The grin faded as he slammed on the brakes. A loud SCREEECCHHH came from under the car as it shuddered to a sudden halt.

"Shit! Is everyone OK?" Dust had entered through the open windows and clouded the passenger's vision. They coughed as they tried to keep the thick, red mist from entering their lungs.

"I think we're fine." "O'Reilly replied as he dusted himself off. He rubbed where the seat belt had strangled his torso. "Weaver" Squinted as he looked out the windshield. He made out a silhouette on the other side of the settling cloud.

"Hey look, a deer." A doe was in the vehicle's path. It seemed undisturbed by the hunk of metal coming to a sudden stop. It's ears fluttered as it ate bits of grass in the middle of the road.

"That's a mule deer. My dad used to take me hunting out here with grandpa. We'd always see those out in the pastures eating with the cows." The inhabitants of the truck were mesmerized by the creature. The effects of the near crash melted away every second spent looking at the doe. She lifted her head and took a whiff of the air, before prancing away and over the fence with the grace of a ballerina.

The driver took a good look at the passenger, before locking with her brown eyes. He looked at her the same way he looked at the deer, but it went unnoticed behind his sunglasses.

"Uh, Roy?" He shook his head.

"Yeah, uh, you good?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She nodded quickly. Roy nodded and slowly pressed the gas pedal. The truck sped down the dirt road.


	2. Prologue Part 2

The truck lumbered to a stop in front of an old farmhouse. The white paint was well kept along with the lawn. The barn was down the hill from the house. It, in comparison, looked a bit "vintage". The red paint was faded and the metal on the big door was rusted. An old sheep-dog was laying on the porch, next to an old woman in a swinging bench.

"Roy? Oh, it's so good to see you." She slowly sat up and walked over to the young man and gave him a hug. Roy crinkled his nose as her short blonde hair hit his face. Roy was slightly taller than her, with his eyes barely reaching over her head.

"Hi grandma Eva. Sorry it's been so long since I've come to see you guys." She released him and gave him a sweet little smile.

"Oh, it doesn't matter. I'm just glad that you're here now." She looked past his shoulder curiously at the others. "Are those your friends, the ones you told me about?"

"Yeah Grandma, those are them." He turned back to them. They were busy looking at the scenery around them. "Hey guys, come over here." They all snapped out of their daze and walked over to the two.

Roy gestured to "O'Reilly". "This is Marcel O'Reilly. I met him and Hesham," He gestured his hand at "Weaver". "at school. You already know Jane."

"Hello Mrs. Stepper." The girl walked to the old woman and gave her a hug. Roy looked all around at the homestead, looking in vain for something.

"Grandma? Where's Grandpa?" She was walking to the door of the old house. The old dog at her side waiting giddily for her to open it.

"Your old Granddad is off in the forest right now. He said that he was going out by the old pond where he used to take you and your dad fishing. He'll be back just before sundown." She wrapped her thin hoodie tighter around herself. "Now come inside, it's starting to get cold." All the teens gathered their bags from the truck and walked to the old house.

The inside of the old house was filled with aging pictures of an older world. An american flag was proudly pinned on the living room wall just behind an old leather couch with two armchairs lying adjacent. An old carpeted staircase was on the opposite side of the room from the entrance. The teens took a second to take in the ambiance.

"You can take your dad's old room upstairs. I'll go start with dinner." Roy gave her a quick hug and headed for the stairs. The three followed him up after they all thanked the kind woman for sharing her house. Roy turned back as he slowly walked up the shag carpeted stairs.

"I'll come help with dinner after we get settled." Pots and pans clanged in the kitchen as the woman unpacked them. Roy continued up when he realized that she didn't hear him.

The upstairs room had three beds. One was a bunk-bed and the other was a single queen. Hesham and Roy were the first ones up. Hesham pointed at the single bed and wiggled his eyebrows at Roy, who scowled and lightly elbowed him in retort.

"Dude!" Marcel pushed past the two and tossed his bag onto the top bunk. He pulled himself up and spread out on the bed. "Dibs!" Hesham walked over to the bottom bunk and tossed his stuff onto it. He sat down and flopped backwards onto his back. Jane walked up to the room and noticed the three beds. Roy tossed down his bag on the floor and looked at her.

"You take the bed. I'll get the floor." Jane closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She reluctantly placed her bag at the foot of the bed. She didn't bother trying to convince him otherwise because she knew he wouldn't listen.

Roy turned to the old nightstand. It had a picture of three boys. Two were exactly the same, but had different color hair. The other looked much older and had brown hair. Marcel looked down at the picture from the bunk.

"Who are those kids?" Roy quickly glanced up at him and back at the picture.

"Oh, that's my dad" He pointed to the younger brown haired one. "The other two are my uncles." Roy gently put the photo back.

"Your dad looks a lot like you at that age." Roy pulled out the sleeping bag from his bag as the others were checking their phones. He lowered himself onto his knees and rolled it out towards the nightstand. "What's your dad's name anyway?" Roy looked up quizzically at his friend, pausing his actions.

"You don't know my dad's name?" Marcel nodded. "Well anyway," He continued unrolling the sleeping bag. "His name is David."

"How about your Grandpa?"

"His name's Jack or, well, It's John, but he prefers Jack." Roy finished unrolling the sleeping bag and flipped onto his back. Marcel crinkled his eyebrows. "Why you asking?"

"You don't really talk about your family. I'm just curious."

"Yeah, why don't you?" Hesham added. He diverted his attention from his phone to Roy.

"I don't really know."

A large man walked into the door. He nearly filled the area of the frame. Gray streaks peppered his brown beard and long hair. He wore a green jacket that was covering an old button up shirt and his jeans had mud around the bottom hem. A black leather patch covered his right eye.

"Hey Roy. Kept you waiting, Huh?" Roy jumped back onto his feet and walked over to his grandfather. They pulled each other into a tight embrace. The old man released Roy and ruffled his hair. "Glad to see you Roy. Are these your friends?" He looked at the others in the room. They were looking blankly at the tower of a man.

"Yup this is them. Jane, Marcel, and Hesham." They waved, still with blank stares.

"Hello, I'm Grandpa Jack. Welcome to my home."

"Th-thanks." "Th-thank you, Sir." "Th-thank ya."

"How about you? How are ya?" He looked down at Roy.

"I've been great Grandpa. How about you?"

"I'm fine, but the animals around here have been acting strange really. I've been looking around for the cause. That's why I was out. Well, I need to go tend to the animals. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye Grandpa." The man lumbered out of the room and down the stairs.


End file.
